49ers salary cap 2015: New cap figures open the door for what to expect from San Francisco front office

Earlier this month, Jason LaCanfora reported that the 2015 NFL salary cap is expected to be between $138.1 million and $140 million per team. The NFL Players Association believes that is a good indication it will be higher, given what we saw this year. Either way, it is worth breaking down the San Francisco 49ers current cap situation as they prepare for the 2015 season.

The 49ers currently have 53 players signed for 2015, accounting for $140,294,943 in salary cap room. They also have $5,935,901 in dead money for 2015. This puts the 49ers over the 2015 salary cap by $5,360,844. However, the team also has $6,370,719 in estimated salary cap room still available for the 2014 season. They are allowed to roll over any unused cap space in a given year, which would put the 49ers at $2,195,902 under the 2015 salary cap.

First lets take a look at the 53 players under contract, and their salary cap numbers for 2015.

QB Colin Kaepernick - $15,265,753
OLB Aldon Smith - $9.754 million
OLB Ahmad Brooks - $9,648,750
ILB Patrick Willis - $8.268 million
ILB NaVorro Bowman - $7.654 million
TE Vernon Davis - $6,696,920
WR Anquan Boldin - $6.909 million
DE Justin Smith - $6,436,668
LT Joe Staley - $6.4 million
RT Anthony Davis - $6,154,170
WR Stevie Johnson  - $6.025 million
SS Antoine Bethea - $4.75 million
PK Phil Dawson - $4.134 million
RG Alex Boone - $3.79 million
CB Tramaine Brock - $2.83 million
P Andy Lee - $2.55 million
NT Glenn Dorsey - $2,541,666
FS Eric Reid - $2,312,933
C Daniel Kilgore - $1,937,500
FS Craig Dahl - $1,933,334
FB Bruce Miller - $1,746,500
SS Jimmie Ward - $1,616,484
NT Ian Williams - $1,583,334
DE Tank Carradine - $1,349,367
OT Jonathan Martin - $1,042,400
TE Vance McDonald - $981,594
RB Carlos Hyde - $836,745
RB Kendall Hunter - $820,000
OG Joe Looney - $766,301
OLB Corey Lemonier - $720,880
C Marcus Martin - $694,359
WR Quinton Patton - $682,875
NT Quinton Dial - $630,413
WR Bruce Ellington - $628,607
ILB Nick Moody - $611,918
CB Dontae Johnson - $610,136
TE Derek Carrier - $585,000
CB Leon McFadden - $585,000
OG Brandon Thomas - $581,504
OLB Aaron Lynch - $559,500
SS James McCray - $512,000
C Dillon Farrell - $511,666
TE Asante Cleveland - $510,000
OG Andrew Tiller - $510,000
CB Marcus Cromartie - $510,000
CB Keith Reaser - $476,200
CB Kenneth Acker - $465,150
DE Kaleb Ramsey - $447,050
FB Trey Millard - $446,787
OG Fou Fonoti - $436,666
NT Mike Purcell - $435,000
WR Chuck Jacobs - $435,000

The following 49ers are scheduled to be free agents on March 10, 2015.

QB Blaine Gabbert
QB Josh Johnson
RB Frank Gore
RB Alfonso Smith
RB Philip Tanner
WR Michael Crabtree
WR Brandon Lloyd
WR Kassim Osgood
TE Garrett Celek (RFA)
OG Mike Iupati
DE Tony Jerod-Eddie (EFA)
OLB Dan Skuta
ILB Michael Wilhoite (RFA)
ILB Desmond Bishop
CB Chris Culliver
CB Perrish Cox
CB Chris Cook
SS Bubba Ventrone
LS Kyle Nelson (RFA)

The 49ers will retain some of their free agents, but guys like Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati could prove too difficult to re-sign. That will depend in part on the market for their services, but given the 49ers salary cap situation, it would not be surprising to see the 49ers move on from them.

The 49ers cap situation is not exactly cap hell, but there will be some work to do this offseason to clear out some space. Here are a few ways to create some room.

1. Ahmad Brooks is scheduled to have a $6 million base salary, plus $1.2 million in roster bonuses, and a $100,000 workout bonus. If the 49ers release Brooks they would save $4,102,500 against the salary cap with a pre-June 1 cut.

2. Vernon Davis is scheduled to make a $4.35 million base salary, along with a $350,000 roster bonus, and a $200,000 workout bonus. If the 49ers release him, they would save $4.9 million in salary cap room.

3. Colin Kaepernick has a scheduled $10.4 million base salary, and the 49ers could lower it down to the minimum of $745,000, thus creating a $9.655 million signing bonus. A signing bonus prorates out over five years at $1.931 million a year. This would give the 49ers a maximum savings of $7.724 million, but obviously removes some of the flexibility they currently have if they decide to move on from him at some point in the future.

4. Aldon Smith is scheduled to make $9.754 million under his fifth year option. It becomes guaranteed after the start of the 2015 league year. The 49ers could sign him to a long term contract extension, with a sizable signing bonus and low first year base salary. Given his off the field issues, the team could choose to wait on that until after a full offseason to see if he can stay out of trouble.

5. Patrick Willis is scheduled to have a $7.065 million base salary, and if they were to extend him a through the 2019 season, they could save as much as $4.956 million in salary cap room.

6. Craig Dahl is also a possible cap casualty, which would save the team $1.7 million in salary cap room if cut.

7. The last group are players who could retire:

• If Anquan Boldin retired, the 49ers would save $3.273 million in salary cap room.
• If Justin Smith retired, the 49ers would save $4.25 million in salary cap room.
• If Phil Dawson retired, the 49ers would save $3.143 million in salary cap room.

As always you can follow me on twitter @Jay_AB81.